Monthly Re-Cap: January 2010

Well, here we are. The first month of 500 Days Of Singers comes to a close. Only 469 albums to go! So, why not take a look back on the month that was:

January 1st, 2010: #156: Paul’s Boutique- The Beastie Boys
Bottom line: Surprisingly great album. Just bought it on vinyl, in fact, and listened to it again last night while reading a book by Ray Kurzweil. Can’t tell you why I felt it was necessary to add what the book was.

January 2nd, 2010: #385: Pretzel Logic- Steely Dan
Bottom line: Kinda boring, and nothing stood out enough in any way to get on the list. It was recommended that this album be skipped and replaced with Van Halen’s 1984.

January 3rd, 2010: #128: Marquee Moon- Television
Bottom line: An album way ahead of it’s time, which to me was more historical than enjoyable, but still doesn’t receive as much credit as it should.

January 4th, 2010: #154: The Low End Theory- A Tribe Called Quest
Bottom line: The concept behind the album is better than the finished product, but some of the tracks are thoroughly enjoyable. Whether or not you enjoy it, you’re certain to appreciate it for what it is ad what it tried to do.

January 5th, 2010: #176: Rocks- Aerosmith
Bottom line: One of Aerosmith’s finest. A solid rock album well worth the listen.

January 6th, 2010: #280: Folk Singer- Muddy Waters
Bottom line: A great capture of a true artist, Folk Singer is a quintessential blues album. Sure, the historical significance to it alone would earn it’s place on the list, but it’s also a solid blues album.

January 7th, 2010: #29: Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin
Bottom line: An absolute classic from start to finish, and one of the finest debut albums to date. Pretty much required listening if you want to go on living in the modern world.

January 8th, 2010: #339: The Heart Of Saturday Night- Tom Waits
Bottom line: A good, consistent album, but on a list of the 500 Greatest, there are far more deserving albums. Waits is a good songwriter, but a far better one is 0-3 to Waits on this list. I replaced this album with the far more deserving The Songs Of Leonard Cohen.

January 9th, 2010: #471: Heaven Up Here- Echo & The Bunnymen
Bottom line: This album bored the shit out of me. It’s supporters, sad indie boys, already have The Cure and The Smiths (far better bands) on the list. There is absolutely nothing special about this album, so I switched it out for the entirely special major label debut of Sublime.

January 10th, 2010: #178: The Byrds’ Greatest Hits- The Byrds
Bottom line: Nick and I disagreed on the legitimacy of including a Greatest Hits on the list, and I was for it. The Byrds were a truly magical group, and each album was unique, so you needed one to sum up the Byrds career. Highly worth the listen.

January 11th, 2010: #241: Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath
Bottom line: One of the most influential albums of all time, and a true masterpiece. Truly a gift to listen to, haunting and heavy. Highly recommended.

January 12th, 2010: #96: Tommy- The Who
Bottom line: For whatever personal shit I had going on, I didn’t give Tommy the review it deserved. Tommy is one of the single greatest albums of all time. Truly a masterpiece. Listen to it, even if you’ve heard it a thousand times. You won’t regret it.

January 13th, 2010: #326: Disintegration- The Cure
Bottom line: I didn’t really like the album, but I appreciated it. Worth the listen just to feed the curiosity, but not an album I’ll ever listen to again.

January 14th, 2010: #144: Straight Outta Compton- N.W.A.
Bottom line: A great rap album, even if the actual message is a little lost. I can’t help think of Gangstalicious from The Boondocks, but that’s a story for another day. Should definitely be given a listen to those without a weak heart (and if your heart is so weak you can’t handle what you view as “obscene”, listen to it anyway and do the world a favor).

January 15th, 2010: #397: Raindogs- Tom Waits
Bottom line: A great album by Waits, with some of the finest songwriting of his career. In fact, I’m listening to it again as I type this. If you listen to nothing else from this blog, download “Time”.

January 16th, 2010: #118: Stand!- Sly And The Family Stone
Bottom line: While Nick vehemently disagreed, I thought this album was brilliant, so vibrant and full of life, and a great example of the exponentially talented Sly Stone at his peak.

January 17th, 2010: #8: London Calling- The Clash
Bottom line: Really good album. Not as good as people make it out to be, but really good nonetheless. Of course, listen to it, but don’t necessarily expect the second coming.

January 18th, 2010: #468: Elton John- Elton John
Bottom line: My apologies for this review being so short. I was getting adjusted to blogging on my own. It really is a very consistent debut. A solid album, and one anyone who is even remotely an Elton John fan should hear.

January 19th, 2010: #216: The Queen Is Dead- The Smiths
Oh, the day of the Swell Season concert. With Glen Hansard standing next to me on the sidewalk (yeah, that fucking happened) it’s hard to remember what I thought of the album. But it is a great Smiths album, possibly their best.

January 20th, 2010: #194: Transformer- Lou Reed
Bottom line: One of my favorite albums. Please give it the respect it deserves.

January 21st, 2010: #330: In The Jungle Groove- James Brown
Bottom line: One of the most pointless entries on this list. Only one track on here isn’t on Star Time, and I’m a fan of Mr. Brown, but it just didn’t deserve to be on this or any other Greatest list. I rightfully replaced it with Either/Or by Elliott Smith.

January 22nd, 2010: #359: Stankonia- Outkast
Bottom line: In a pre-Kanye world, I can understand why this album was so special. But Outkast is the Buddy Holly to Kanye’s Elvis. You can try and compare the two, but even die-hard Holly fans cencede the cultural and musical superiority of Elvis. I didn’t enjoy Stankonia, nor did I get what made it so special. Maybe that’s because I heard hip-hop get ten steps further ahead than Stankonia with Kanye’s debut “The College Dropout”, which is obviously what replaced Stankonia on my list.

January 23rd, 2010: #269: Some Girls- The Rolling Stones
Bottom line: Was still in a rush when writing that one. Some Girls is a great Stones album. Definitely give it a listen.

January 24th, 2010: #129: 40 Greatest Hits- Hank Williams
Bottom line: I had just found out about my best friend joining the army, and I apologize to Hank Williams for getting shafted by this fact. This album I a truly great portrait of earl American music, and it’s historical significance alone earns it a place on this list.

January 25th, 2010: #204: Dirty Mind- Prince
Bottom line: Pretty good. Not mind-blowing, but good, and a great insight into early Prince. Seems to find himself by the end. Any Prince fan oughta hear it.

January 26th, 2010: #499: Born Under A Bad Sign- Albert King
A truly great, often ignored blues album. King never gets the respect he deserves, and this is undoubtedly his best.

January 27th, 2010: #232: Mr. Tambourine Man- The Byrds
Bottom line: “This album is a fantastic portrait of the band in their early stages, and very much worth the listen.” I stand by what I said.

January 28th, 2010: #493: That’s The Way Of The World- Earth, Wind & Fire
Bottom line: Great tracks, but far too long. Coulda done for some trimming, but highly worth looking in to.

January 29th, 2010: #361: Substance- New Order
Bottom line: Still not sure if this is a better choice than Technique or Power, Corruption & Lies. In retrospect, maybe I’d have switched in Technique, but I leave it up to you. Listen to them all and decide.

January 30th, 2010: #54: Electric Ladyland- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Bottom line: Genius from start to finish. One of the greatest albums of all time, and a true portrait of an artist at his peak.

January 31st, 2010: #492: Vitalogy- Pearl Jam
Bottom line: While inconsistent, and starting off poorly, Vitalogy reveals Vedder at his most vulnerable, and is worth the listen.